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I’m pretty sure truck-stop rocker James McMurtry was laughing into his dinner as he sat at Poppi’s Anatolia last time he came to Eugene. He was chilling out alone before his WOW Hall show, sitting one table over from me, and couldn’t help but to hear my friend Becky bitching me out for not putting hay bales around the bottom of my Airstream trailer in a sort of redneck insulation to keep it warm in the winter. Continue reading
Crow Quill Night Owls are an old-timey band dealing with some 21st-century problems. The musicians, based in Port Townsend, Washington, are all set to launch a Kickstarter campaign for a new tour vehicle and to upload their latest record to Bandcamp — only problem is they can’t get their computers to work. “I’m looking for the hand crank,” jokes vocalist-guitarist Kit “Stymee” Stovepipe. Continue reading
Nima’s Wish Foundation hosts its annual fundraiser concert SPRING FORWARD June 8-9 at Cozmic; $18-$30 (free for kids 10 and under). The two-day event hosts a smorgasbord of local musicians including headliners Reeble Jar and Sol Seed, Laura Kemp, Phoebe Blume, I-Chele and Zambuco Marimba. Funds go to providing aid for people in Gambia, where Nima Gibba’s father is from. The 11-year-old Gibba tragically passed in a car accident in 2009. Continue reading
On Nov. 3 1961, Dave Brubeck played at the UO’s McArthur Court for $2.50. Less than a year later, Brubeck joined Tony Bennett for the White House Seminar American Jazz Concert with the Washington Monument as a backdrop. On May 28, 2013, Tony Bennett & Dave Brubeck: The White House Sessions, Live 1962 was released after over a half century forgotten in a vault. Continue reading
Name a music biz award and young pro-bull-rider-turned-dusty-throated-troubadour Ryan Bingham has probably won it. His song “The Weary Kind,” from the 2009 Jeff Bridges movie Crazy Heart, was awarded everything from an Oscar to a Grammy. And did I mention he used to be a pro bull-rider? That’s some serious country-western cred — I’d like to see Toby Keith or Kenny Chesney try and ride one. Continue reading
If you’re wondering why the restaurants and streets along Broadway seem a little more crowded this month, blame The Shedd. The erstwhile Baptist church is hopping with jazz, choral music and its annual summer musical. First up is Friday night’s concert featuring the impeccable guitarist Frank Vignola, a frequent and always welcome visitor who brings a duet partner, guitarist Vinny Raniolo. Continue reading
When there’s a story — or an album’s worth of stories — inside you, it’s going to find a way to come out. For Vikesh Kapoor, the first several years of his life were spent playing piano. Then, an arm injury. He turned to photojournalism at Boston University. Continue reading
Seattle has become a hip-hop factory — or at least hip hop with a PNW twist: Blue Scholars, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Wanz, Common Market, Grieves, Shabazz Palaces. And, like most hip-hop scenes, Seattle is dominated by male artists. Then there’s THEESatisfaction, an R&B-leaning hip-hop duo made up of Stasia “Stas” Iron and Catherine “Cat” Harris-White. Continue reading